1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to snap hook connectors for use at the ends of rope, cable, chain, or other lines, connectors or fasteners, and more particularly, to spring latched snap hook connectors wherein the latching mechanism can be locked against opening.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are a great variety of available spring biased latching snap hooks for connection to receiving rings, or to lines, or to other fasteners. In many of these uses it is desirable to have a latched snap hook connector which is capable of easy actuation for engagement to and disengagement from a to-be-connected item, while providing a latching and locking function which is configured to resist accidental opening or disengagement. Conventional snap hooks have typically been hook or J-shaped, terminating in a nose, and have had, for example, a latch member or gate that is pivoted about a pin received through the body of the hook, which latch member is normally urged into a position where a portion of the latch member touches or engages the nose of the body by the action of a resilient member, such as a spring, bearing against both the body and the latch member. The size and shape of the nose of the hook body and of the portion of the latch member which engages it are generally preselected to cooperate with each other to resist deformation by lateral forces and to prevent opening of the hook by movement of the latch member beyond its normally closed position by the application of outwardly applied forces. Conditions can be encountered in use where the resiliently biased latch member can be inadvertently actuated by a user into an open position. Where such actuation depresses the biased latch member sufficiently to permit the item to which the snap hook is attached to slip free, the proper function of the snap hook will be defeated.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a snap hook which includes at least one locking mechanism which in addition to the resiliently biased latching function of previous self-latching snap hooks has an additional locking mechanism that locks the latch member in closed, latched relationship with the hook body so as to better resist inadvertent opening of the latching mechanism by the user.
In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a resiliently biased latch member on a snap hook which, in concert with an additional locking mechanism provides the desirable feature of one-handed actuation by the user's thumb and/or finger.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description showing the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts as herein described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiments of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included and come within the scope of the claims except insofar as precluded by the prior art.